Scot Free


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Scot Free : Phrases



Meaning:

To get away with something without paying a price; excape punishment.


Example:

Some might say OJ got off scot free.


Origin:

Scot was the Scottish term for a unit of taxation. Anyone who did not have to pay taxes got off Scot free.

Alternative: A slate for marking pub bills is called a scot. Scot free is to not pay the bill on your Scot.

Alternative: Refers to Dred Scott, a slave who crossed from a slave state to a free state. In the days of U.S. slavery, the Dred Scott case was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that slaves were property and had no rights.

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